Overwatch League™ Opening Week Draws More Than 10 Million Viewers

Newly announced Twitch distribution deal drives an average audience
per minute of 408,000 for the opening day broadcast

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Overwatch League roared to life last week at the Blizzard Arena Los
Angeles, with four days of intense competition between all 12 teams of
the world's first major global city-based professional esports league.

Buoyed by a newly announced two-year deal with Twitch, the Overwatch
League's exclusive worldwide[1] third-party digital broadcast
partner, opening day drew an impressive average audience per minute of
408,000, and 280,000 for the week. More than 10 million viewers tuned in
over the four-day period via Twitch, MLG, and Chinese streaming partners
ZhanQi TV, NetEase CC, and Panda TV—not to mention the countless
additional viewers at watch parties worldwide. On Twitch and MLG alone,
the peak concurrent online audience of 437,000 hit during the highly
anticipated day-one matchup between Dallas Fuel and Seoul Dynasty. In
addition, tickets to Blizzard Arena Los Angeles were sold out for the
entirety of opening week.

"We're thrilled by the overwhelming response to the Overwatch League's
opening week of play," said Pete Vlastelica, president and CEO of Major
League Gaming (MLG). "But this is only the beginning. With more than 35
million Overwatch® players, the Overwatch League has the potential to
become one of the most-watched leagues—of any kind—in the world."

"Since we announced Overwatch League at BlizzCon 2016, we've been
eagerly awaiting the day when the global competitive Overwatch community
could come together under one banner," said Nate Nanzer, Overwatch
League commissioner. "Opening week was that coming-out party—for the
fans, both in-person at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles and tuned in by the
millions all over the world, and for the players, whose love for the
game came through crystal clear."

"We had high expectations for the inaugural broadcast of the Overwatch
League on Twitch, given our platform's passionate fanbase for
Overwatch," said Kevin Lin, COO of Twitch. "They really put on an
amazing show and fans showed up en masse to support and celebrate
Overwatch. Based on the response from the community, Overwatch League is
off to a great start and we look forward to watching how the season
progresses. This league demonstrates the power and potential of esports,
and we're thrilled to continue expanding our partnership with Blizzard."

Viewers can tune in to catch all the action on Twitch,
www.mlg.com,
the MLG app (on iOS and Android), www.overwatchleague.com,
and the Overwatch League app, which launched last week for iOS and
Android. Blizzard gamers also can get easy access to the Overwatch
League via a new Overwatch League tab in the Blizzard Battle.net desktop
app.

The first season of the Overwatch League runs until June, with playoffs
and finals scheduled for July. For the inaugural season, all
regular-season games will take place at Blizzard
Arena Los Angeles, a state-of-the-art live-event venue in Burbank,
California, custom-renovated for Blizzard Entertainment esports events.
Fans can purchase tickets to attend matches, which will be played each
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. A full schedule and information
about ticket sales can be found at www.overwatchleague.com.

About the Overwatch League™

The Overwatch League™ is the first major global professional
esports league with city-based teams across Asia, Europe, and North
America. Overwatch® was created by globally acclaimed publisher Blizzard
Entertainment (a division of Activision Blizzard—Nasdaq: ATVI), whose
iconic franchises have helped lay the foundations and push the
boundaries of professional esports over the last 15 years. The latest
addition to Blizzard's stable of twenty-one #1 games,[2]
Overwatch was built from the ground up for online competition, with
memorable characters and fast-paced action designed for the most
engaging gameplay and spectator experiences. To learn more about the
Overwatch League, visit www.overwatchleague.com.

[1] Not including China.[2] Sales and/or downloads, based on
internal company records and reports from key distribution partners

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in
this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations,
plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including
statements about the dates, events and features of the Overwatch League,
are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard
Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release
include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the
risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report
on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The
forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information
available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the
date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision
Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may
ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of
the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which
are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially
from current expectations.

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